Vehicle occupant restraint systems having an actuatable restraining device are well known in the art. One particular type of actuatable restraining device includes an inflatable air bag mounted within the occupant compartment of the vehicle in a forward location to protect the occupant during a frontal crash.
Such restraint systems for protecting an occupant during a frontal crash further include a crash sensor for detecting the occurrence of a vehicle frontal crash condition and for providing an electrical signal indicative of the frontal crash condition. Crash sensors in restraint systems that protect the occupant during a frontal crash condition include actuatable switches, inertia switches, or accelerometers.
When the crash sensor indicates that a frontal vehicle crash condition is occurring, an electric current of predetermined magnitude and duration is passed through a squib, i.e., an electrically actuatable ignitor, for the purpose of igniting the squib. The squib, when ignited, ignites a combustible gas generating composition and/or pierces a container of pressurized gas operatively coupled to the air bag. Ignition of the squib, thus, results in inflation of the air bag.
Occupant restraint systems for protecting an occupant during a side impact of the vehicle are also known in the art. Such side impact restraint systems typically include an air bag mounted in the vehicle door or arm rest adjacent the occupant. One known side impact occupant restraint system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,388 to Warner, et al. This '388 patent discloses an air bag mounted in the vehicle door adjacent the occupant. The side impact crash sensing device disclosed in the '388 patent is a strip switch mounted to the outside panel of the door. The strip switch is designed to provide a crash indication when an object striking the side of the vehicle penetrates the outer door panel by more than about one inch.
Another known side impact restraint system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,966 to Nishitake, et al. The restraint system of the '966 patent includes an air bag mounted in the vehicle arm rest or inside the door. Two side impact crash sensors are provided for each of the air bag restraints. One of the side impact crash sensors is mounted to a central portion of a door reinforcement member located inside of the door, i.e., the door beam. The second side impact crash sensor is mounted to the vehicle at the bottom of the door sill. Both of the sensors are identified in the '966 patent as being shock sensors.
Automobile original equipment manufacturers have mounted sensors at many different locations in the vehicle for the purpose of measuring accelerations of the vehicle during vehicle crash tests. These sensors are not used for control purposes such as control of an actuatable restraining device, but simply provide acceleration data during the crash test. This test data is used for vehicle design analysis. One known mounting location for a test accelerometer used to collect crash data is the inside panel of a vehicle door.